Active IT signs hard drive vendor

Active IT partners with Iomega to distribute its range of external drives

Jebel Ali-based hardware distributor Active IT Distribution has added another authorised brand to its portfolio in the shape of data storage vendor Iomega. The company, which is close to completing its first year of operation, will offer the vendor's external hard drives and storage devices to channel partners throughout the Middle East.

Active claims its strategy is to focus on a select number of brands that haven't been able to fulfil their potential in the region and require dedicated market development. Parvez Ahmed, founder and managing director at Active, explained: "Active's positioning is about working with vendors who have a good offering but, for whatever reason, don't have the right market share. If you look at the external storage market then you've got Maxtor, which went into Seagate, and Western Digital, which has filled in and has the main share of the market. External storage is a growing market and we believe it presents a strong opportunity."

Active's aim is to bring Iomega's influence up to the level it enjoys in Europe, where it claims the vendor controls around 17% of the external storage market. Iomega uses ITE Distribution to target the power retail market, but Active will focus on the commercial channel where it insists that increasing corporate mobility usage is driving demand for external storage solutions.

"Although it hasn't had a presence in the [reseller] channel, Iomega has good brand equity in the region," said Ahmed. "Not only has it now appointed Active, but it is seriously looking into opening a local marketing office."

Iomega joins several other brands that Active has signed this year, including Sapphire, Simmtronics, SMC Networks, US Robotics and Tripp Lite for UPS products. It also sub-distributes AMD components and Apple accessories.